Saturday 9

Why does it hurt?  I happened, quite by accident, to see the "blogs I follow" list of someone I have known and followed for many years and on whose list I always showed up, but I'm not there any more, though I continue to follow her blog and have since the beginning.  I am grateful to everyone who follows Funny the World, but I guess there is a sell-by day for old friends.  Heck, sometimes I even bore me!

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Snowbird (1971)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Elvis wants the snowbird to fly away and take the snow back with her. Have you seen a measurable snowfall yet this season?

I've seen the same measure of snowfall we see every year - zero.  In the 43 years we have lived here, it has snowed twice, only once long enough to stay on the ground for photos, but gone within the hour.

2) Drivers in snowy climes are encouraged to keep salt, sand or kitty litter in the trunk because those items can help a car regain traction in the snow. Do you have an emergency kit in your car right now? If so, what's in it?

Well, not really.  We have flashlight and jumper cables and gear to change a tire or put on chains, but that's about it, I think.

3) Back in 2007, North Dakota set the world record for the most snow angels made at one time (8,910). Do you enjoy playing in the snow?

I don't know that I have ever played in the snow, except one year where we took the kids to the mountains.

4) Chionophobia is the fear of snow. Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightening. Lilapsophobia is the fear of tornadoes and hurricanes. Do you have to cope with any of these fears?

Nope.  The only natural disaster we have here is earthquakes (seismophobia), but I don't have that.
 
5) Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie split her childhood between Memphis and Los Angeles, so she seldom saw snow. When she was a little girl, she was whisked her off to Denver in her father's private plane so the two of them could spend an afternoon playing in the snow. If you could take off and spend the afternoon anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Well, "anywhere in the world" is silly unless you are going somewhere close, like Memphis to Denver.  If I wanted to spend the afternoon in London, that's a 12 hour flight., if I wanted to go to Australia or Africa, the afternoon would be over and I'd still be on the plane.  But if I had a transporter or Tardis, I wouldn't mind going on an African photo safari before dinner back home again.

6) At home and onstage, Elvis refused to wear jeans and only wore denim if a film role demanded it. This is because when he was young, classmates teased him for "dressing poor" in jeans and coveralls. What did you wear to class when you were in grammar school?

I wore a uniform from 1st grade through 12th grade.  Easy...no decisions about what to wear.

7) Elvis and President Jimmy Carter are distant relatives (the President is the sixth cousin of the King's great grandfather). Your turn: Tell us about one of your more interesting relatives.

My aunt was apparently the first woman granted a pilot's license in California.  My great uncle (and godfather) was a champion 6 days bicycle racer.  Another great uncle came within one fight of being feather weight boxing champion.  My grandparents were in vaudeville, and my grandfather was an Irish tenor in a barbershop quartet.

8) In 1971, when Elvis released his recording of "Snowbird," You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown was a hit on Broadway. Who is your favorite Peanuts character?

I love Snoopy, and our kids did You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, where Paul was Charlie Brown, David was Linus and Tom was Schroeder, so I have a soft spot in my heart for all of them, especially Charlie Brown and his eternal quest for getting a kite to fly.  (That production, BTW, was directed by Jeri and Ned was on the set crew.)

9) Random question: You receive a gift certificate from a gourmet food company that can be redeemed for one of these three things: 1 lb. of caviar, 5 lbs. of steak or a 10 lb., live lobster. Which would you choose?

No problem.  Steak.  I don't like either caviar or lobster (and the thought of killing a live lobster turns my stomach, though I wouldn't mind having someone kill a Dungeness crab for me!  (And BTW, I suspect 5 lbs of steak would be by far the cheapest of the choices)